


Persistant Users and the Like

by curiously_me



Category: Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-04
Updated: 2012-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-29 12:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/320059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiously_me/pseuds/curiously_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alan promised Sam that he'd keep trying until they got a response from the program.  His efforts finally pay off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Persistant Users and the Like

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've written anything in the Tron fandom (even though I am in love with it, lol). So, hopefully I haven't made a mess of things... enjoy!

.....

"Hello?"

.....

"I don't even know if this will work, but Sam and Quorra won't leave me alone about it until I try, so if you would be so kind as to answer? Anything will do."

.....

Alan Bradley sat at the computer terminal, waiting for a response and not sure if he was crazy for it or not. Sam had been back for little over a week now and he'd laid waste to the way Encom was run, taking over and turning the company right around. He was making it the Encom Alan had helped bring into being, programming side by side with Kevin and Lora to create something that would be the foundation of the electronic age.

With Kevin Flynn at the helm, Encom had quickly become one of the major contenders in the fight for supremacy in the computer and software world. The "Big Three", people called Hewlett-Packard, Apple, and Encom, and each company was strong for different reasons. Kevin had wanted to mold Encom into a company that would make not only it's employees and stockholders proud, but the public as well.

Alan had to wonder at the sudden change in Sam's attitude toward Encom and his role with the company, but it eased his mind to know that everything they had worked for wasn't going to just be tossed aside for a bigger payday.

Which is why he's sitting at this computer station in a basement he never knew existed underneath Flynn's Arcade, eyes dry and red from staring too long at a monitor and grey hair wild from continually running his fingers through it in frustration. Alan shook his head, if he ever saw Kevin Flynn again, he was going to smack him for keeping so many damn secrets. Those secrets had hurt the ones he cared for most, made them think he was dead and those very same secrets may have finally done the job and rid the world of him for good.

Alan had to be sure, though. And, in order to be completely certain, he had to locate his program.

'Good lord!' Alan thought, 'I haven't thought about TRON in far too long. It was just supposed to be a security program, so how in the world has it evolved into this?!'

He'd been scrolling through lines and lines of code for going on ten hours now, and though he was tired, he had to know what had happened since he handed the program over to Kevin.

Already, he could see the marks of his friend's work on his old program; a subtle shift in coding here to speed up reaction time, just a hint of whimsy to give Tron a better grasp on what he knew as the world of the Users, and not a small amount of battle data to give him even more of an edge over his opponents.

But there was also something darker written into the code, something much more recent, with updates and revisions of such a high number that Alan was shocked Tron was even able to continue functioning with all of the conflicting code.

"So, this must be C.L.U.'s work, then." Alan said to the screen. If Sam wanted him to talk to an unresponsive computer program, if he really believed it would help them find the answers as to what happened with Kevin, the by god Alan would talk to the program until his voice left him entirely.

"I can see how hard you fought him. It's written all over your code, you know? See, right here is where you tried to stop the revolt against Flynn, and just a little further on, there it is, is where he incapacitated you and started inputting all of the revisions to your base code.

"If this wasn't the work of an obviously very mad man, program, then I would be a little awed at his ability to create something so complex it was able to overpower your base code. No, don't be like that, it's not your fault he managed to get in so far. Really, if you want to lay blame, then the blame lies entirely with me. As your programmer, it's my responsibility for anything that may not be exactly perfect in the code I write."

He watches the screen as the lines of code Kevin wrote glow briefly, before dimming down again to match the code around it. Alan grins, finally something to work with.

"Huh, you really think that Kevin's improvements were what allowed C.L.U. to create such a nasty little patch?"

The code flickers once more and Alan can't help himself, he brushes his fingers over the touch-screen before him, petting it like he used to pet Lora's cat just to hear it's purring. That cat was so shy that it used to hide under the sofa until it was certain Alan wasn't about to make any sudden movements, but if he waited long enough it would creep back out and into his lap, rumbling like a freight train for all it was worth.

He really misses that cat sometimes, he misses Lora too, almost like a missing limb, but he's grown used to the feeling of something missing in his life. It's one of the reasons he couldn't let go of Encom, even as he watched the company's ideals go down the drain. With Sam not wanting anything to do with the man who wasn't his father, shutting him out completely, Alan had needed the work to keep him sane.

He yawned hugely, leaning away from the computer and stretching his arms over his head. The couch against the far wall was looking more enticing by the minute, but he really wanted to make some noticeable progress with Tron before turning in for the night, or morning as it were.

He stared up at the ceiling for a minute, remembering the last time he'd communicated with his program. Alan smiled fondly, he remembered quite clearly how excited Flynn had been when he'd told him how Tron had overcome the MCP's tyrannical hold on Encom. The conversation wasn't as out-there as he'd originally thought.

Yes, he was going to smack Kevin Flynn around once or twice the next time he saw him. The other man should be terrified of their reunion. How dare he not tell Alan about his forays into the Grid? Hell, for that matter, why hadn't he told Alan about the Grid in the first place? Alan could see his own work throughout the Grid's code, remembered the seemingly random things Kevin asked for one day and then seemed to have forgotten about the next.

He heard a rasp from the computer, and then, "...not what I expected."

Alan had to laugh at that. Of course, that would be the first thing Tron would say upon meeting his User for the first time. Alan could admit, to himself, that the years hadn't been as kind to him as they could have been. He looked tired and old, worn out, no matter how much Sam might protest it.

"I'll bet you say that to all the Users you meet." Alan replied, a grin still on his face. "Here, just let me tweak this little bit here and that should make talking a little easier for you, at least until I get the chance to delve a little deeper into it."

The lines of code on the screen coalesced into the mirror image of himself, years younger, but still so tired and worn.

This was Tron. His program.

"Hello, Alan_1, I am... happy to finally have the chance to meet you." His voice is still so low and raspy that it must pain him to speak, but the warmth and hope in his eyes conveys the programs emotions better than any words Alan could come up with.

"Hello, Tron. The pleasure is all mine."


End file.
